Near the Beginning. . . There Was Quark-Gluon Plasma Johann Rafelski Department of Physics, the University of ARIZONA, Tucson
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Near the beginning. there was Quark-Gluon Plasma Johann Rafelski Department of Physics, The University of ARIZONA, Tucson BNL Physics Colloquium, January 21, 2014 Journey in time through the universe from a visit to the quark-gluon plasma era: Matter surrounding us arose from the primordial phase of matter, Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). QGP was omni-present up to when the Universe was 13 microsec- onds old, just the time it takes for heavy ions to travel around the BNL-RHIC ring. As the universe expands and cools QGP hadronizes, forming abundant matter and antimatter. Only a nano-fraction surplus of nuclear matter sur- vives annihilation process. A dense electron-positron-photon-neutrino plasma remains. The description of neutrino chemical and kinetic freeze-out dynam- ics requires use of the methods we developed in study of hadron freeze-out in QGP hadronization. Electrons and positrons begin to annihilate nearly at the same time when neutrinos decouple. Electron-positron-annihilation process lasts through the big-bang nucleo-synthesis (BBN) period. In the background of free streaming dark matter and neutrino fluids the visible matter evolves till ion-electron recombination completes, and the Universe becomes transparent to free-steaming light we observe as the cosmic microwave background. 1 Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 2 The next hour is about • In depth look why we do relativistic heavy ion physics and: • Applying this to the understanding of the Quark-Hadron Universe • Applying non-equilibrium methods developed in RHI to other time epochs Past decade primary contributors: (former) students were (αβ’ic): Jeremey Birrell, Michael Fromerth, Inga Kuznetsowa, Lance Labun Michal Petran, Giorgio Torrieri supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, grant DE-FG03-95ER41318. Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 3 Outline • The intellectual and historical pillars of RHI-QGP physics - extended version • The beginning: Experimental HI Program • The beginning: Introduction to cosmology and survey of three epochs of cosmic evolution: QGP, ν-decoupling – BBN, Ion-electron Recombination • Differences to QGP in laboratory: time scale, baryon content, size scale TIME PERMITTING • Quark-lepton Chemistry • Universe with mixed quark-hadron phase • Hadron Universe emerges Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 4 Intellectual Pillars of QGP/RHI Collisions Research Program RECREATE THE EARLY UNIVERSE IN LABORATORY: Recreate and understand the high energy density conditions prevailing in the Universe when matter formed from elementary degrees of freedom (quarks, glu- ons) at about 13 µs after big bang. QGP-Universe hadronization led to a nearly matter-antimatter symmetric state, the later ensuing matter-antimatter annihilation leaves behind as our world the tiny 10−10 matter asymmetry. There is no understanding of when and how this asymmetry arises. INVESTIGATE STRUCTURED QUANTUM VACUUM (Einsteins 1920+ Aether) The vacuum state determines prevailing fundamental laws of nature. Demonstrate by changing the vacuum to the color conductive deconfined ground state. STUDY ORIGIN OF THE INERTIA OF MATTER The confining vacuum state is the origin of 95% of inertial mass, the Higgs mechanism applies to the remaining few%. We want to: i) confirm the new paradigm; ii) explore the connection between charge and inertia; iii) understand how when we ‘melt’ the vacuum structure setting quarks free the energy locked in the mass of nucleons is transformed. SEARCH FOR THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF FLAVOR Normal matter made of first flavor family (u, d, e, [νe]). Strangeness and charm [at LHC] rich quark-gluon plasma the sole laboratory environment filled with 2nd family quark matter (s, c)– arguable the only experimental environment where we could study matter made of 2nd flavor family. Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 5 The Riddle of Three Generations of Matter In QGP we excite a large number of particles of Generation II – this should present an opportunity to explore foundation of flavor physics. Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 6 Vacuum Structure: Origin of Physics Laws Relativistically Invariant Aether 1920: Albert Einstein at first rejected æther as unobservable when formulating special relativity, but later changed his position. “It would have been more correct if I had limited myself, in my earlier publications, to empha- sizing only the non-existence of an æther velocity, instead of arguing the total non-existence of the æther, for I can see that with the word æther we say nothing else than that space has to be viewed as a carrier of physical qualities.” letter to H.A. Lorentz of November 15, 1919 In a lecture published in Berlin by Julius Springer, in May 1920, presentation at Reichs-Universit¨atzu Leiden, addressing H. Lorentz delayed till 27 October 1920 by visa problems, also in Einstein collected works: In conclusions: . space is endowed with physical qual- ities; in this sense, therefore, there exists an æther. According to the general theory of relativity space without æther is unthinkable; for in such space there not only would be no propagation of light, but also no possibility of existence for standards of space and time (measuring-rods and clocks), nor therefore any space-time intervals in the physical sense. But this æther may not be thought of as endowed with the quality characteristic of ponderable media, as consisting of parts which may be tracked through time.The idea of motion may not be applied to it. The QGP created in laboratory is a ponderable fragment of the early Universe: is this possible? Berndt Muller and I worked on this in early ’70s: Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 7 Formation of Local Domain of Charged Vacuum Pair production across (nearly) constant field fills the ‘dived’ states available in the localized domain. ‘Positrons’ are emitted. Hence a localized charge density builds up in the vacuum reducing the field strength - back reaction. Charged vacuum ground state ob- servable by positron emission. Rate W per unit time and volume of positron (pair) production in presence of a strong electric field |E~ | first made explicit by J. Schwinger, PRD82, 664 (1950). c (eE)2 X∞ 1 W = ImL = e−πEs/E,E = m2c3/e~ eff 8π3 (~c)4 n2 s e n=1 What is special about Es? For E → Es vacuum unstable, pair production very rapid, field cannot be maintained. Quantum physics allows local changes in the aether Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 8 Strong Fields and Charged Vacuum Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 9 The Structured Vacuum 1985 booklet We constructed interdisciplinary rela- tion between Strong Fields–Casimir–High T–Deconfinement–Higgs vacuum Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 10 Relativistic Heavy Ions - the Beginning I was told that I am too young without track record and was denied access to the ‘Bear Mountain’ meeting set-up to advance RHI program. Of all participants as far as I can see only TD Lee had published on vacuum structure at that time. No wonder the US community kept on 10y long discussion of what and how to do. Phase transition at the “Quark Matter” meeting in September 1983 at BNL! This happened since: Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 11 RHI experiments needed a signature of QGP and deconfinement ⇐= JR & Rolf Hagedorn, preprint CERN-TH-2969, Oct.1980 From Quark Matter to Hadron gas in“Statistical Mechanics of Quarks and Hadrons”, H.Satz, ed.,Elsev. 1981. s/¯ q¯ → K+/π+, → Λ/p¯ are proposed as signatures of chemically equilibrated deconfined QGP phase, near matter- antimatter symmetry discussed. As of 1981 kinetic strangeness produc- tion by gluon fusion in QGP, PRL with Berndt Muller submitted in Decem- ber 1981. Details on multistrange an- tibaryons appeared in Phys. Reports Fall 1982. Hadronization developed 1982-5, pubs with Peter Koch, PhD thesis ⇒ 1985/6, Phys. Reports. Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 12 In QGP strangeness production by gluon fusion I shared an office at CERN 1977-79 with Brian Combridge who studied the mechanisms of perturbative QCD charm production, showing glue based process dominated – Berndt Muller and I used Brian’s cross sections to compute the thermal invariant rates and prove that equilibration of strangeness in QGP is in experimental reach. This creates the need to introduce approach to chemical equilibrium yield in QGP. Dependent on aspect ratio of quark densities in QGP and streaming hadrons this can result in just about any level of strange hadron abundance in the final hadron count. Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 13 RHI Strangeness signature of QGP and Deconfinement Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 14 Move forward decades of RHI work ⇒ quark-hadron Universe Today we are ready to explore setting the beginning at Electro-Weak vacuum freeze: • The expansion of the QGP Universe, • The conversion of Quark Universe into hadrons, • The dynamics of matter-antimatter annihilation and hadron disappearance in the range 300 < T < 3 MeV and, • The emergence of particle content as seen today. • Connecting the evolution of plasma Universe towards neutrino decoupling to era of disappearance of e+e−-pairs and BBN For most part we journey back to the quark-hadron Universe Jan Rafelski, ArizonaQGP: Journey in the Universe BNL January 21,2014 , page 15 Introduction to Cosmological Evolution I Standard cosmological Friedmann-Lemaˆıtre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model is based on space-time metric · ¸ dr2 ds2 = c2dt2 − a2(t) + r2(dθ2 + sin2 θφ2 1 − kr2 The space has (expanding) flat-sheet properties for the experimentally preferred value k = 0.